An Angel's Love
by cleris4ever
Summary: Five years after the events of Final Fantasy VII, Cloud Strife had fallen into despair having lost his best friend and the love of his life. Can the planet grant his wishes? One of three prologues for Another Life, Another Story
1. Turn Back Time

_**An Angel's Love**_

_**Chapter One**_

**Turn Back Time**

It's been nearly five years since Meteorfall. Nearly five years since a young man with blond hair defeated the planet's enemy in order to reawaken holy. Nearly five years since he lost the one person to make him laugh, to make him smile. Yet he kept on living, he lived for those he had lost, for those he watched die before his eyes.

But now…it was more like he was existing, rather than living. The man who risked his life to save the life of the planet. The man who fought his demons time and time again. The man who came back from the brink of death because of the love given to him by an angel. This man was merely a shell of his former self. Nobody, not even his friends could lift him up.

One day, the man travelled to the City of the Ancients. It was here where his angel breathed her dying breath. He came here often, more often than he used to. He sat atop the altar, gazing at the moonlit sky. It was here, in this melancholy place that he felt at home.

Suddenly, he heard a voice. A woman's voice he had never heard before.

"Warrior of the planet…" the voice echoed through the forgotten city.

"Warrior of the planet, you have our thanks. It is because of you and your comrades that this planet is still alive."

The man looked down. "I did nothing," he thought to himself. "It was her, it was because of her. She's the one who saved us all, not me."

"I sense sadness in your heart." The voice said. "Tell me brave warrior, is there anything you desire? After all you've done for the planet, your good deed should not go unpunished."

The man thought for a second. It's not like he had anything left. He lost his best friend, and he lost the love of his life.

"I think I want to be forgiven…no…I don't want to be forgiven…I want to be happy. I want to be happy more than anything in the world."

"I see," answered the voice. "In that case, I will grant you the happiness that you desire."

Suddenly water shot up from the lake, no not water…it was the Lifestream itself. The man didn't know what was going on, he felt like some unseen force was pulling his body in various directions. He felt sick, he felt as though he was being dragged into hell itself. He struggled, and struggled until all faded to black.

The man awoke in a small flower field. The flowers had a familiar scent, a scent so lovely he thought he was in heaven. Suddenly he heard the creak of a door. The man turned his head and he realized he wasn't in a flower field, but a church with flowers at the center.

He looked toward the door, there stood a young woman with long light brown hair braided down her back. She had a pink ribbon and wore a pink dress with a red jacket. The man couldn't believe what he was seeing, it was her, and she was standing before him. The woman walked towards him, and touched his face. He looked into her eyes; they were emerald green, just like how he remembered them. Then she opened her mouth.

"Cloud?"

The young man smiled. "Aeris?"

"So this is where you were?" the woman said. "I thought I told you not to step on the flowers."

"Aeris! It's really you!" the young man said as he got up. He walked toward the door. Just as it looked like he was about to leave he ran back towards the woman, and he clung to her.

"I can't believe it.," he said.

"Why are you so surprised Cloud?" Aeris asked. "I was always here."

"Aeris…"

Just as the two were sharing a tender moment the door opened. In walked a man with a gun on his arm, a perky young ninja, a research specimen, a pilot smoking a cigarette, a robot cat riding a moogle, and a longhaired man with a crimson cape.

"There you are Cloud!" said the ninja girl.

"Been worried about 'ya" said the man with the gun on his arm.

"I've been lookin' for ya! You never drank your goddamn tea!" said the pilot.

"Sorry guys. I guess I was taking a nap." Cloud said.

"Well at least let us know next time." Said the research specimen.

"Anyway let's go! Tifa's not gonna like waiting for you two to get back to the bar." Said the cat.

Cloud smiled at his comrades, then he finally spoke, "Alright everyone let's mosey."


	2. Fight For Your Love

_**An Angel's Love**_

_**Chapter Two**_

**Fight For Your Love**

Cloud grabbed Aeris's hand and the two followed their friends out of the church. The group walked through the Sector 5 Slums, past the sick guy's house. Cloud wondered if Aeris would point that out again but she didn't.

While walking through the streets of Sector 6 Cloud suddenly stopped, something was troubling him.

"Cloud, Is something wrong?" Aeris asked.

"I was wondering whether or not something happened to Sephiroth?"

"You don't remember?" asked Vincent.

"No," Cloud replied,

"The son of a bitch disappeared without a trace." Cid said.

"He was about to kill Aeris! I can't believe you forgot that!" shouted Barret.

"Just as he was about to stab her, he vanished. I was pretty surprised." Red said.

While he was walking Cloud remembered everything. He remembered Aeris getting killed, but he also remembered Sephiroth vanishing before he could stab her. It was strange but Cloud decided not to question it.

"WE'RE HERE!" yelled Yuffie.

Cloud and his friends were standing outside Seventh Heaven. Cloud could've sworn Sector 7 was destroyed, but here it was right in front of him. He began to think to himself: "if Sephiroth didn't kill Aeris, and if Sector 7 hasn't been destroyed…then what else could be different?"

Well he was about to get his answer. Just as he opened the door he heard a familiar voice.

"Cloud? I knew you'd come here!" said a tall young man with spiky black hair.

"Zack? You're alive?"

"Yeah, I won't go down that easy!" said Zack, then he saw Aeris holding Cloud's hand, "Aeris?" he asked.

"Hello Zack," Aeris answered.

"Aeris I missed you. Remember, I still owe you a date!"

Aeris looked at Cloud, and then at Zack, then back to Cloud, and back to Zack.

"Uh, Zack, we need to talk."

"Sure thing!" Zack answered.

Zack and Aeris walked towards the pinball machine, Aeris began to speak.

"Zack, I'm sorry…but I don't think that date's going to happen."

"Why not Aeris?"

"Well, there are two reasons. One is that I think you may have thought our relationship was more serious than it actually was. I heard from Cloud that you said I was your girlfriend when I really only saw you as a really good friend. And two, I've fallen in love with someone else. I'm really sorry Zack. You know I love you, but I'm not in love with you."

"I see, well at least you told me. I guess I was so into the idea of having a girlfriend that I didn't really think about whether or not she felt the same."

Aeris could clearly see that Zack needed a hug, so she gave him one, a nice friendly hug.

"PAPA!" a little girl shouted as she ran towards Barret.

" MARLENE!" Barret said happily as he picked up the little girl.

The father and daughter spun around, hugging and giving each other Eskimo kisses.

"Hey! You're back!" said a voice coming from the basement. The elevator rose from below with a buxom woman riding it. The woman had dark brown hair and dark red eyes. She waved at her friends and made her way towards Cloud.

"Where were you?" she asked angrily.

"You could at least say hello, Tifa," said Cloud.

"Honestly, I need to keep an eye on you, you're always off getting into trouble somewhere."

"I was just taking a nap in the church, I wasn't blowing up a reactor or something like that."

"Cloud, you really have to get your act together, what about us? Are you going to settle down with me or what?"

"Where did you get that idea Tifa? Where did you get the idea that we had something, I'm sorry Tifa but there isn't anything between us, and there never will be."

Cloud could see Tifa's eyes fill up with tears, he felt bad since Tifa's his friend, but he couldn't think of any other way to tell her no.

"So who is it?" Tifa asked. "Who do you want to be with you? Is it Aeris?"

"Maybe," Cloud answered.

Aeris was across the room she couldn't believe her ears, she did have feelings for Cloud, but she didn't know whether he felt the same.

"What does she have that I don't?" Tifa asked again.

"Well…for one thing, she isn't on my ass all the time, she doesn't try too hard to get to know me, and she doesn't hide things from me."

"I get it now…I get it," Tifa said as she ran toward the elevator.

Aeris walked towards Cloud.

"You didn't need to be so hard on her Cloud," Aeris said.

"I wish I didn't have to but I was getting sick of her acting like my mother." Cloud said as he gave Aeris a kiss on the cheek.

"Cloud?"

"I want to give us a shot Aeris. I want to know if you're really someone I could fall for."


	3. Date Night

_**An Angel's Love**_

_**Chapter Three**_

**Date Night**

A few months have passed since Cloud and Aeris began going out. Today the two are living together along with Aeris' mother Elmyra. At first Elmyra was wary of Cloud, she saw him as someone who would take advantage of her little girl's feelings them leave her out to dry. After seeing how happy Cloud made her daughter Elmyra warmed up to him, now they get along pretty well.

Aeris was in her room putting on a green sundress, she and Cloud were going on a date with Zack and his new girlfriend. Tifa was invited too but she declined the offer, Cloud and Aeris figured that she was still having trouble moving on. Tifa has spoken to neither Cloud nor Aeris since Cloud told her that it was never going to happen.

Aeris missed her best friend a lot. She tried getting in contact with her for a while now but Tifa still won't return her calls. Eventually Aeris just gave up; she figured that Tifa would come around sooner if she did.

There was a knock at the door.

"Who is it?" asked Elmyra.

"It's Zack!"

Elmyra opened the door.

"Hey Mrs. Gainsborough. Are Cloud and Aeris ready yet?"

"Yes, hang on. CLOUD! AERIS! ZACK'S AT THE DOOR!"

Aeris walked down the stairs. She was wearing the green sundress, and her long hair was done up in a ponytail instead of the usual braid. Cloud walked out of the kitchen wearing a polo shirt and a pair of shorts. He figured he'd be casual since they weren't going anywhere fancy.

"Hey Zack," Cloud said.

"What's up?"

"Oh, hello Zack."

"Hey Aeris. You guys ready."

"We sure are!" said Aeris.

"All right everyone let's mosey!" said Cloud.

"Cool, anyway my date's looking at the flowers."

"Is that her?" Cloud asked.

"Yeah that's her. HEY CISSNEI! OVER HERE!"

The woman looking at the flowers turned her head. Her light brown eyes lit up at the sight of Zack. She ran towards him, her light brown hair blowing in the wind.

"ZACK!" she squealed as she pounced on him.

"Easy Cissnei, this is a new shirt."

"Whoops! My bad," Cissnei said as she helped Zack to his feet. "So are you guys ready to go?"

"Yup!" exclaimed Aeris with a smile on her face.

"Yeah," said Cloud.

The group of four walked down the streets of Sector 6 towards the infamous Wall Market. If it was up to Cloud he would never step foot in this part of Midgar again. After what happened at Don Corneo's mansion nobody could blame him. They walked into a familiar restaurant. Cloud remembered this place well, he remembered the man doing the "pee-pee dance" by the bathroom, which is another reason he was apprehensive about going back here since the food tends to make everyone have to use the bathroom. Now this wouldn't be so bad if there was more than one bathroom.

The group ordered their meals, had a few drinks and talked for a little while. Both Cloud and Aeris felt a little uncomfortable though, they couldn't help noticing Cissnei's constant displays of affection.

After saying goodbye to Zack and Cissnei, Cloud and Aeris made their way home. Suddenly Cloud stopped at the playground.

"Why are we stopping here?" Aeris asked.

"I want to ask you something."

"Really? What is it?"

"Aeris Gainsborough…I love you…and I want to know if you'd make me the happiest man in the world. Will you marry me?"


	4. Proposal At The Park

_**An Angel's Love**_

_**Chapter Four**_

**Proposal at the Park**

Aeris couldn't believe it. Cloud had just asked her to marry him. She could feel tears welling up in her eyes, tears of joy.

"Is this real?" she asked.

"Yeah." Cloud answered.

Cloud was nervous. He wanted this moment to be special. He wanted to propose to Aeris at a place where it would mean something to her. He just hoped he didn't choose the wrong place and time.

"Yes! Yes I will marry you Cloud!"

"Really?"

"Of course, there's nobody else in the world I'd want to spend my life with."

Cloud scooped Aeris up in his arms. He looked into her eyes, she was still crying. He took his hand and wiped the tears from her cheek. Aeris giggled and threw her arms around him. It was like they were in their own little world, unaware that someone was watching them.

"Cloud, why are you hurting Aeris?" a young girl asked.

"Oh, hi Marlene!" Aeris said. "He's not hurting me."

"But he picked you up, and I heard you cry."

"I was crying because I was happy Marlene."

"Oh, then I guess it's okay."

"Marlene?" called a familiar voice. Tifa was running towards the park when she suddenly stopped short. Standing before her was the man who rejected her, and the woman he chose over her.

"Hi Tifa!" Aeris called out.

"Oh, hey Aeris. Hello Cloud." Tifa answered.

"Hey Tifa," said Cloud.

Tifa looked down and saw something shiny on Aeris' left ring finger, an engagement ring.

"Are you two…?" Tifa began to ask.

"Yup! We're getting married!" Aeris said happily.

Tifa felt like someone just plunged a knife in her stomach and twirled it around a few times. Then she spoke.

"Congratulations," she said with a faint hint of jealousy in her voice.

"I hope you're okay with this Tifa, I mean…we really want you to be there. After all, you're my best friend." Aeris said.

"I'll think about it." Tifa replied. "Anyway, we gotta get you home Marlene."

"But I wanna swing." Marlene answered.

"I'll take you here again tomorrow."

"Okay then!"

Both groups departed from the park. Cloud and Aeris continued through the streets of Sector 6, and approached the Sector 5 slums. They passed the sick guy's house and finally arrived home.

Elmyra was there to greet the couple. She had just finished cleaning the house.

"Mom." Aeris said. "We have a surprise for you!"

"Oh? I love surprises! What is it? Wait…Aeris you're not pregnant are you?" Elmyra asked. Cloud and Aeris's faces turned bright red. They thought that was the last thing Elmyra would ask.

"No Mom, we haven't even had sex yet." Aeris said. Cloud buried his head in his hands. He couldn't believe his fiancé just told their mother about their sex life, which is currently nonexistent, but the fact that she added the "yet" at the end of the sentence made him embarrassed. He didn't want his future mother-in-law imagining him and her daughter doing the nasty.

"Oh, look at Cloud." Elmyra pointed out. "He looks so embarrassed. I was kidding about Aeris being pregnant by the way; I know that you two aren't doing anything. I mean seriously, the walls are so thin I'd probably walk into the other room to tell you two to knock it off. Now what's the real surprise?"

"I asked Aeris to marry me." Cloud said.

"And I said yes," Aeris followed up.

Elmyra smiled, her little girl was getting married. She hugged Cloud and Aeris, and then she spoke.

"Congratulations you two! This calls for a celebration."

"Okay!" Aeris said cheerfully. "I'll make some lemonade to celebrate!"

It was with that sentence that Cloud felt a little nervous. As much as he loved Aeris, he hated her cooking. To say Aeris was a bad chef would be an understatement, the food she makes is not only unedible but it looks like it's alive. One of her worst creations is her lemonade; she always feels the need to add salt and milk to the batch.

Last time she made the lemonade was a few weeks ago when a young man named Squall, and his girlfriend visited from Balamb. Aeris just so happened to meet Squall online and she quickly bonded with his girlfriend Rinoa. When Squall and Rinoa came to visit Aeris prepared her lemonade. After one sip Squall spent the rest of the night praying to the porcelain gods. The scene was pretty comical, with Rinoa trying to hold back his hair, but for the most part it was rather uncomfortable to watch.

Cloud spent a good amount of time in the bathroom trying to psych himself up. He didn't have the heart to tell Aeris that her lemonade was terrible. Finally he just decided to suck it up and take it like a man. He opened the door and walked into the kitchen.

"It's ready!" Aeris said skipping towards Cloud. Cloud sat down and braced himself; he was scared about what Aeris could have put into the lemonade this time. He took a sip, and it wasn't that bad. He was pretty shocked.

"It's really good." Cloud said.

"YAY!" Aeris cheered. She seemed so proud of herself that Cloud couldn't help but smile.

After a long night of drinking lemonade Aeris went up to bed. Cloud was just about to join her when all of a sudden Elmyra called his name.

"So the lemonade wasn't half bad huh?" Elmyra asked.

"Did you have something to do with it being so good, Elmyra?" Cloud asked.

"Let's just say that before Aeris got into the kitchen I poured the milk into the sink, and I dumped all the salt out the window." Elmyra confessed.

"Thanks Elmyra. You just saved my life" Cloud said as he walked up the stairs.


	5. Setting The Date

_**An Angel's Love**_

_**Chapter Five**_

**Setting The Date**

Aeris and Elmyra were walking through Wall Market to pick out Aeris's wedding dress. Elmyra asked Cloud to come along and give his opinion but he refused, Aeris didn't blame him though, especially since she was the one responsible for his bad memories of this part of town.

After a couple of hours Aeris finally picked out her dress. Elmyra didn't like it at first but Aeris managed to convince her. On the way home the two stopped by the restaurant Aeris went to with Cloud, Zack, and Cissnei. The two enjoyed a nice lunch before heading home.

Cloud was waiting for his fiancé and his future mother-in-law to get back home. There were a few things that he needed to talk to Aeris about.

"Cloud? We're home!" Aeris called out.

"Oh, hey." Cloud said. He walked over to Aeris and kissed her on the cheek. Elmyra walked into the kitchen to prepare dinner just as Cloud and Aeris went upstairs.

"We still have to decide a few things." Cloud said.

"Okay. What should we decide first?" Aeris asked.

"Well, we already have the church picked out as the venue. The guest list is pretty much set. All we really have to do is set a date." Cloud said.

"First we should probably decide who should do some of the stuff essential to a wedding. We need someone to perform the ceremony." Aeris pointed out.

"Well Cait Sith volunteered." Cloud said.

"Yeah…but having a robot cat marrying us would be a little weird." Aeris said with a sigh. "Maybe Cid could do it?"

"I don't want him spouting out profanities during the vows. That goes for Barret too."

"Yeah you have a point Cloud. Red would be awkward since he has four legs and probably wouldn't be able to hold a book."

"Vincent would probably be a little broody so I guess he's out. Damn."

"How about Tseng? He's normal enough." Aeris suggested.

"I guess so. It's not like there's anyone else anyway." Cloud concluded.

The next day Cloud and Aeris were back at it. They already picked out who would perform the ceremony, now it was time for them to get a few other roles straight.

"I asked Zack to be my best man." Cloud said.

"That's great! Did he say yes?"

"Yeah."

"Yay! We have Marlene as our flower girl."

"How about your maid-of-honor Aeris?" Cloud asked.

"I asked Tifa," she said. "But I still haven't heard back."

"Do you have a back-up? You know just in case?" Cloud asked.

"Yuffie's my back-up. But I'm a little apprehensive since my materia's in plain sight." Aeris said twiddling her fingers.

"So we're gonna have to hope that Tifa shows up."

"Yeah."

After awhile the two finally had everything set up. The next few days they sent out the invitations and set up the church for the big day. It won't be long until September 30th, the day that Cloud and Aeris will finally become husband and wife.


	6. Wedding Among The Flowers

_**An Angel's Love**_

_**Chapter Six**_

**Wedding Among The Flowers**

The day has finally arrived. Cloud walked into the church, once inside Tseng greeted him. Aeris asked Tseng to marry her and Cloud and he was delighted to help out. Cloud wasn't so sure about Tseng being fine with performing the ceremony since he had a crush on his bride-to-be, but Tseng hasn't looked at her the wrong way but that could be because Cloud threatened that Yuffie would steal his materia if he did.

While talking to Tseng Cloud heard Zack enter the church. Zack seemed to be running from something, Cloud didn't know what he was running from but he hoped it wouldn't crash the wedding.

"Cloud, can I talk to you for a sec?" Zack asked.

"Can it wait?" Cloud asked back.

"No."

"Okay then, ask away."

"Not here." The two went through the door behind the flower field. Cloud could tell something was really troubling Zack.

"What's up?" Cloud asked.

"It's Cissnei. She's driving me crazy!" Zack said.

"What happened?"

"Well, a few nights ago she sort of threw my condoms away."

"You're already at that point? I haven't gone that far with Aeris yet." Cloud confessed.

"I didn't need to know that…anyway I want to break up with her but I don't want to cause a scene, this is your wedding after all." Zack lamented. Before Cloud could say anything he heard footsteps approaching. He was hoping Cissnei didn't hear what he was talking to Zack about. When the door opened, it wasn't Cissnei standing in front of them but rather it was Tifa.

"Tifa? You decided to show up." Cloud said.

"Why wouldn't I? You and Aeris are my friends and I wouldn't want my friends to be sad if I didn't show up. Would I?" Tifa replied.

"So, I guess you're finally over Cloud huh?" Zack asked.

"Well, I ran into this amazing guy at the bar, he told me that I deserved better than Cloud." Tifa told Cloud and Zack.

"And who is this mystery man?" Zack asked.

"Hey sorry I'm late, I had to find a place to park the helicopter." Rufus ShinRa said as he walked through the door. Cloud was shocked. Rufus? Of all guys Tifa could have met at the bar. Rufus? He thought if anyone from ShinRa managed to score with Tifa that it would be Rude, or even Reno. But, Rufus? Rufus?

"You better keep this a secret from Barret, Tifa." Cloud warned.

"Don't worry he doesn't know. I've been sneaking out when he and Marlene are both in bed, now if you'll excuse me I have to go check on Aeris." Tifa said as she skipped away.

"I've never seen Tifa skip before." Zack said with a hint of suspicion. "You don't think she and Rufus have done it yet do you?"

"Nah, Tifa's too shy to just let a guy she's been going out with for a few weeks see her naked." Cloud said back.

"Zacky-poo!" Cissnei called out as she ran towards Zack. She jumped on him making him fall over. Cloud couldn't help but laugh. Not only was Cissnei tackling down Zack, but also she gave him an embarrassing nickname.

"Hey Cissnei." Zack said trying to sound as happy as possible.

"You weren't hitting on the chick with the boobs were you Zacky-poo?" Cissnei asked.

"No, she has a boyfriend anyways." Zack answered.

"But would you if she didn't have a boyfriend?" Cissnei asked again.

"Nah, I have you anyway." Zack said trying to hide the fact that he was uncomfortable.

"Good answer Zack." Cissnei said as she got off of Zack and went to take her seat next to Reno and Rude.

"You see what I have to deal with?" Zack asked angrily.

"Sorry man." Cloud said sympathetically.

Aeris was surprised when she saw Tifa enter her room. She was so happy that Tifa decided to show up. She gave her a big hug and the two began to talk.

"You look great." Tifa said to Aeris.

"Thanks, you do too!" Aeris said back. "How've you been?"

"I've been great. I have a boyfriend. He got me this," Tifa said pointing to a diamond necklace.

"That looks really expensive." Aeris gasped.

"Yeah, well, he's rich." Tifa bragged.

"Wow!" Aeris said happily. "Will he be here today?"

"Yeah, he'll be in the back row. He would have sat up front but he didn't receive an invitation so he thought it would be rude."

"If I had known ahead of time I would have sent him one." Aeris said.

"Well it's probably for the best that you didn't." Tifa said. Suddenly Elmyra walked through the door.

"Girls the ceremony's about to start." Elmyra said.

"Okay." Aeris said back.

Cloud was standing at the altar waiting for the wedding to begin. He had Zack standing beside him telling him funny stories about what he was doing before they met again at Seventh Heaven. Tseng was standing at the center, focused on doing his job. The music started and Marlene walked down the aisle in a pink dress. She tossed the flower petals as she skipped towards the altar.

"That's my girl!" Barret stood up and screamed out. Vincent shushed him. Tifa walked out in a lovely pink cocktail dress. She had her hair down instead of her signature dolphin-tail.

"You see her." Rufus whispered to Reeve. "I'm doing her."

"Didn't need to know that." Reeve whispered back. The music changed. The traditional wedding march began. Aeris was walking down the aisle alongside Elmyra. Cloud couldn't believe his eyes, Aeris looked stunning. She had her hair down, she wore a ballgown style white dress, and a laced veil shrouded her face.

"Who gives this woman to this man?" Tseng asked very seriously.

"I do." Elmyra answered. She let go of Aeris's hand and took her place in the front row.

"Dearly beloved." Tseng began, "we are here to join Cloud Strife and Aeris Gainsborough in holy matrimony, and to celebrate the love that they share."

Cloud and Aeris smiled at each other.

"The couple has written their own vows."

"Cloud, I love you. I loved you since I first saw you. When we first met I saw a lot of an old friend in you so I was a little hesitant. But over time I began to see the real you. The more I spent time with you the more I fell in love with you. I promise you that I will fall more in love with you everyday, I promise to support you, to love you, and be by your side forever." Aeris said.

"Aeris, nobody has made me feel as loved, as happy, or as important as you have. When I'm with you I feel like I can take on any challenge that stands in my way. I cherish every moment we spend together, and I can't imagine spending these moments with anyone else. Growing up my Mom told me what kind of girl would be best for me, and she was right. If my Mom were still alive she'd be very proud because I'm marrying the perfect girl. Forever." Cloud said.

"Okay, now Aeris place this ring on Cloud's finger and say: With this ring I thee wed." Tseng said.

"With this ring, I thee wed." Aeris said as she placed the ring on Cloud's finger,

"Now Cloud, you place this ring on Aeris's finger and say: With this ring I thee wed." Tseng repeated.

"With this ring I thee wed." Cloud said.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife! You may now kiss the bride." Tseng said. Cloud and Aeris kissed as flower petals rained down from the ceiling.

"Ladies and gentlemen! I present to you Mr. and Mrs. Strife!"

The reception was pretty normal. Zack and Tifa gave their speeches. Both Zack's and Tifa's speeches were fairly similar, though Zack cracked a few more jokes in his. There was a small problem with Tseng checking Aeris out but Yuffie remedied that situation. Cloud and Aeris danced their first dance to an instrumental arrangement; Aeris said that it's a song from her childhood.

It was a day that Cloud and Aeris could never forget, and it drew to a close as the two drove off into the sunset.


	7. Honeymoon in Paradise

_**An Angel's Love**_

_**Chapter Seven**_

**Honeymoon In Paradise**

Cloud and Aeris boarded the Highwind. Cid greeted the newlyweds and set a course for their destination: the sunny paradise of Costa del Sol. Once in the air Cloud put his arm around his new wife, Aeris took this as an opportunity to get comfortable, the flight isn't a short one after all. Cid's girlfriend Shera was also with them, after Sephiroth's disappearance Cid decided to ask Shera out, at the moment they have a very good relationship, Cid loves her tea a lot. Both Cloud and Aeris were still exhausted from celebrating their nuptials so they took a long nap.

"We're fucking here!" Cid yelled. Cloud and Aeris woke up and shielded their eyes.

"Didn't need to know about that!" Cloud yelled back.

"I meant we're in Costa del Sol. We're not having sex you moron!" Cid screamed. Cloud and Aeris disembarked from the Highwind and set foot on the sands of their destination. They said goodbye to Cid and Shera and went towards their cottage.

Cloud bought the late President ShinRa's summer cottage, now called Villa Cloud, not too long ago. Since that point he and his friends have redecorated. Cid insisted on having a table for tea parties, one of the few things Cloud will never go near. Cloud and Aeris walked into the bedroom and set down their luggage on one of the two beds. Then they walked towards the living room and cuddled on the couch.

"I'm going to take a quick bath!" Aeris said skipping to the bathroom.

"Okay, I'll wait here." Cloud called out, he grabbed a nearby magazine that Yuffie left on the table the last time she was here. It was a materia magazine, not something Cloud was interested in but at least he could read it to pass the time. Just as he finished the first column his cell phone rang.

"Hello?" Cloud said into the receiver.

"Hey Cloud!" it was Zack on the other line.

"Hey Zack, what's up?" Cloud asked.

"I just broke up with Cissnei." Zack said

"You broke up with her?" Cloud asked loudly.

"What happened? Aeris asked as she opened the bathroom door. She had a pink towel covering her privates and suds in her hair.

"Zack just broke up with Cissnei." Cloud whispered loud enough so she could hear.

"Oh." Aeris said nonplussed and returned to her bath.

"What happened?" Cloud asked Zack.

"Well, after your wedding Cissnei found a box of condoms in my dresser, she then decided that it would be funny to blow them up like balloons and try to make balloon animals out of them, not the best idea since they don't work like that. After they all broke she put them back in the box. When I asked her about it later she said that they only work about 97% of the time so they were pretty much worthless. " Zack said trying to keep his composure.

"So what did you do?" Cloud asked him nervously.

"I told her she was making stuff up. I'm well aware that condoms aren't perfect protection but they're pretty much the best protection that I can afford, Cissnei's not an idiot, I know she knew this stuff and she was trying to get me to have unprotected sex with her." Zack said with an angry tone of voice.

"So how did it end?" Cloud asked, dreading the answer.

"I pretty much blew up at her! I told her that she was nothing more than a rebound. After Aeris told me it was never going to happen I needed some comfort, so I consulted my little black book and Cissnei was the girl I was friendliest with. I guess she thought I was in love with her. Now that I look back at what happened I realized how Aeris felt about having someone love you but not the way you love them." Zack sighed.

"Sorry man." Cloud said sympathetically.

"It's okay, I just need some time to myself for a while." Zack said.

"Okay, I'll talk to you later." Cloud said.

"Kay. Bye." Zack hung up the phone.

Aeris emerged from the bathroom. She was wearing a pink bathrobe and had a pink towel covering her head. She sat down next to Cloud.

"So what do you want to do first?" she asked.

The two walked hand in hand through the streets of Costa del Sol. They stopped by Tifa's friend Johnny's house to say a quick hello and then they went for a walk on the beach. They played a game of beach volleyball against some locals and lost miserably. Then they went to get some ice cream at the inn.

An hour after eating their ice cream they went for a swim. They splashed each other for a while and tried to see who could hold their breath longer, a contest that Aeris easily won.

The day of fun in the sun ended as the newlyweds watched the sunset from their beach chairs while drinking lemonade. Once the sun had set they returned to Villa Cloud.

That night Cloud and Aeris were getting ready for bed. It was going to be their first time and they wanted to make it as special as possible. Aeris threw some flower petals down on the bed and Cloud cooked a nice dinner. Aeris questioned Cloud's decision to cook their dinner but she didn't care since the food was so good. For the most part though they were stealing food off of each other's plates, normally this would anger Cloud but since it's Aeris he didn't really care. They drank their wine and joked about their day at the beach.

Before the night truly began the two lied down in their bed feeding each other strawberries dipped in chocolate. Once the food was gone Cloud turned off the lights and their night of passion had begun.


	8. Flower Shop

_**An Angel's Love**_

_**Chapter Eight**_

**Flower Shop**

Cloud and Aeris couldn't believe it, their honeymoon has ended and now they had to return home to Midgar. They boarded their ferry and waved goodbye to the sunny paradise.

"That was fun!" Aeris said.

"Yeah," Cloud answered her. The ferry pulled away from the dock and headed towards Junon, not long after Cloud's cell rang.

"Hello?" Cloud answered.

"Hey Cloud, it's me." Tifa was on the other line.

"Hey Tifa, what's up?"

"Well, Rufus and I sort of got eloped at the Gold Saucer…"she told him.

"YOU WHAT?!" Cloud screamed into the receiver.

"What happened?" Aeris asked.

"She and Rufus eloped at the Gold Saucer." Cloud told Aeris.

"WHAT?!" Aeris asked, she was shocked, Rufus and Tifa haven't been together for very long and she didn't think that Tifa would be the kind of person to just marry someone who she barely knew.

"She and Rufus eloped at the Gold Saucer." Cloud repeated.

"I know that." Aeris said, "Um, would you mind if I talked to her real quick?" she asked.

"Not at all." Cloud answered, he gave Aeris his phone and she walked towards the back of the boat.

Nearly ten minutes passed and Aeris still had not returned. Cloud began to worry; it wasn't like Aeris to take this long. Just as he was about to go look for her Aeris returned.

"What did you talk about?" Cloud asked.

"She told me that Cait Sith talked her and Rufus into eloping," Aeris said.

"I should have known," Cloud sighed, "he's probably still upset about us not asking him to marry us."

"Well what does he expect? He's a robot cat." Aeris said.

"Anything else?" Cloud asked.

"Well Rufus got an embarrassing tattoo on his right butt cheek," Aeris giggled.

"Really?" Cloud asked.

"Yup! It said 'Tifa's Bitch,' and underneath it said 'I'm a Moogle kupo!'" Aeris laughed.

"Oh man." Cloud laughed with her. The two of them continued to laugh about Rufus's tattoos for the rest of the ferry ride home.

Once they reached Junon Cloud and Aeris hopped on to a Chocobo buggy. They snuggled and chatted for a while. Then Cloud looked into Aeris's eyes. They kissed for about ten seconds before Cloud pulled away.

"Why does your breath smell like puke?" Cloud asked.

"I was probably seasick." Aeris said.

"That makes sense." Cloud said back. He pulled her closer and kissed the top of her head. Aeris fell asleep on Cloud's lap and he fluffed her hair.

Once they arrived in Midgar they walked towards a building in the Sector 5 Slums. Aeris wanted to open her own flower shop so they bought a two-story building near the sick guy's house. Unfortunately it was pretty run down so Elmyra offered to get some help while they were away.

"You're home!" Elmyra called out, she was walking towards the couple. "How was your honeymoon?" she asked.

"It was amazing!" Aeris said cheerily, "We had so much fun!"

"That's great to hear. Just so you know I had Barret paint the walls and Marlene drew you two a picture." Elmyra told them.

"That was nice of them!" Aeris cheered. "Let's go inside Cloud!" she said grabbing Cloud's hand and skipping into their new home.

The first floor was where the flower shop was going to be. There was a cash register near the back of the room and assortments of different flowers were spread out. They walked through the door behind the register, on the other side were the stairs leading to their home. They walked through the door at the top of the stairs, the kitchen was right in front of them. Cloud made a mental note to keep Aeris away from the stove. The living room was through the archway to the left. Aeris made sure to spread flowers out in the room to give it more of a "homey" feel. The bathroom was next to a potted plant on the left wall, it's just a typical bathroom. Cloud and Aeris's bedroom was directly across from the entrance in the kitchen. Then there were two other rooms, they were currently empty but Cloud and Aeris figured that they'd find use for them at some point.

Aeris sat down at the kitchen table. She was looking at a vase on the table while waiting for Cloud to finish making tea. As soon as the tea was done they talked for a while. They talked about Tifa eloping, and they talked about the flower shop. Aeris planned to have Elmyra help her out until she could get the hang of it.

That night while Cloud was sleeping he overheard Aeris talking on the phone. Normally he's not one to eavesdrop on Aeris's private conversations but he couldn't help himself.

"I know Tifa…" Aeris said with a hint of concern in her voice. Cloud wondered what they were talking about so he listened a little longer.

"I know I have to tell him, it's just…I don't know how he'll react." Aeris continued. Cloud began thinking about what Aeris needed to tell him.

"Yes I know he'll find out eventually, I guess I'm just scared." Aeris said, her voice shaking. "You're right I'll just have to suck it up, thanks Tifa…bye." Aeris said and hung up the phone. She was walking towards their room. Cloud pretended to be asleep, as soon as she got in bed Aeris opened her mouth to speak, but she stopped not wanting to wake up Cloud.


End file.
